Category Archives: Book Reviews

Brian Giffin – Encyclopedia of Australian Heavy Metal

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The Encyclopedia of Australian Heavy Metal

The Encyclopedia of Australian Heavy Metal (Dark Star) is a thorough listing of most, if not all, of the bands to have been born in the land down under. This is the third revised edition of the encyclopedia lovingly compiled by long time fan Brian Giffin. In his opening he shows the reader just how many people and how much work goes into creating a book of this depth and length. The worldliness of metal is also emphasized. It is clear that Giffin takes Australia’s role on that world stage very serious.

Giffin’s desire to highlight Australia’s presence in global metal is not misplaced. The only Australian band most average music listeners can name is AC/DC. Even then, many mistakenly believe they are from the United Kingdom. Interestingly the encyclopedia seems to confirm that AC/DC are the biggest band to come out of the country. The entry on them is one of the longest in the entire book. One third of the book based resources in the References section are solely written about them. While it is good to acknowledge this part of Australia’s history it also makes the reader wince since the goal of this encyclopedia is to introduce people to all the country’s metal offerings.

This encyclopedia is one of the most in-depth there is out there when it comes to sheer length and number of bands mentioned. Although this is a testament to Giffin’s thoroughness and love for Australian metal it can present itself as a setback. Many of the mentioned acts only have a single sentence to describe them. A good chunk of others read like a “Where Are They Now?” article since there is so much overlap with band members and the formation of new bands out of defunct ones. This is where one wonders if being a completest has been given favor over accessibility. The book may have been more clear and engaging if important bands in certain sub-genres were highlighted and defunct ones were mentioned in the biographies of newly formed bands where appropriate. In defense of the smaller bands being included, there are some interesting entries one may not have heard of otherwise. One such case is the description of Circadian which reads, “Circadian is an enviro-centric one-man doom band…” It makes the reader wonder just how specific one can get with their music approach.

While the encyclopedia is a great example of how passionate metal fans are, it is likely not something casual listeners will be interested in. It is easy for the entries to seem never-ending as the whole work could use more visuals. The wiki version that Giffin mentions in the opening is better for those who just want to look into a few bands from this part of the world. Credit must be given to the man for opening readers’ eyes to just how much music there is to be discovered; especially considering all 342 pages of the encyclopedia is just on metal.

 

The Encyclopaedia is available now via

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5.5/10

MELISSA CAMPBELL

 


Lisa Sofianos, Robin Ryde and Charlie Waterhorse – The Truth of Revolution, Brother

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Lisa Sofianos, Robin Ryde and Charlie Waterhorse - The Truth of Revolution, Brother

The Truth of Revolution, Brother: An Exploration of Punk Philosophy (Situation Press) is an interesting look at many of the common philosophies within the rebellious genre and it also acts as a biography for some of its key figures. Through a series of interviews authors Lisa Sofianos, Robin Ryde and Charlie Waterhorse, have crafted an insightful and at times dense examination of the personal beliefs that fuel the music, particularly in anarcho-punk.

Culled from over 20 different interviews with subjects including the likes of former Dead Kennedy’s vocalist Jello Biafra, producer Steve Albini and firebrand Gavin McInnes, The Truth of Revolution, Brother feels like a great documentary that hasn’t been shot yet. Punk isn’t just music, for the faithful it’s an unshakable bond that informs all of their daily decisions. It was an artistic liberation because it wasn’t the usual prog and arena rock that permeated the 1970s. If you had something to say now you can now express yourself even if you can’t play your instrument very well or have a record label to back you up. All the weirdos were allowed.

“Punk changed the whole world for me,” says Albini. “Punk changed all of my friends. Everything that I do with my life. This studio. All of this that I am doing for a living. Everyone I know. Every significant friend I’ve ever had. Every significant life experience that I have had, I owe that to the Ramones.”

However, it is also quick to point out that while punk was the undiscriminating genre when it came to musical prerequisites, age or sex; it is also very much steeped in hierarchy as you are allowed to come in and participate only if you wear the right boots and black shirts. The prevailing Do-It-Yourself ethos acts as the backbone that allows punk to stand, but also means that there is less focus on quality control as anyone can come in and take a swing at it. Doing it yourself can sometimes lead to doing it badly.

But for me what was most interesting about this tome is that so many of the interviewed always pointed to anarcho-punk trailblazers Crass as one of their main inspirations and the reason for adopting the punk lifestyle. The consensus is that they were the first punk band to adopt the DIY mantra, foster pro-environmentalist habits and call for everyone to drop competiveness out of their nature in order to improve the community.

“What is so deeply emotional for me about Crass, in particular, is that when I was sent to the correctional boarding school I was completely alone” says Jon Gnarr. “And I was so afraid that I carried a knife. I felt so alone, and there was nobody to tell me right from wrong, there weren’t even teachers at that place, so at a very difficult time in my life, Crass was there for me.” Feeling dissatisfied with his government’s handling of the 2008 Icelandic financial crisis, Gnarr would use some of that punk influence and form the satirical Best Party. In a shocking upset Gnarr ran and was elected mayor of Reykjavík in 2010.

So many other of the interview subjects continuously cite the short lived anarchist bent Essex unit, that it starts to feel like that you are getting an oral history of the band. Adding to that feel are insightful chapters directly from former Crass members Steve Ignorant, Penny Rimbaud and Gee Vaucher.

Something worth noting is that with so many citing the same artists and similar philosophies as vital the book can begin to feel a tad repetitive towards the middle, but all things considered it shines a bright light on the inner machinations of one of rock’s most extreme wings. Now if we could only get that complete Crass biography.

8.0/10

HANSEL LOPEZ


Albert Mudrian – Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore (Reissue)

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Released twelve years ago, Albert Mudrian’s anthology of Death Metal has stood the test of time; an engaging read taking you on a loose zig-zag through the birth and, um, death of Death Metal. Unveiled through the eyes of its’ progenitors, there is method to the tale that begins in England, moves to Tampa, takes in Entombed and Scandinavia and reserves a special mention for the oft overlooked Dutch input of Gorefest and Pestilence.

Undertaking a task as complicated as trying to find the true source of the Nile (Karl Sanders – badoom tish!), Mudrian begins his tale by trying to uncover the birth of what became known as Death Metal, settling on Napalm Death and their 1985 era hybrid (Siege meets Discharge meets Celtic Frost) of hardcore punk, thrash and a desire to be harder, faster, sicker than everyone else. The book then focuses on the influence of their Scum release (Earache) on other vital artists, like Morbid Angel (via Pete Sandoval, then in Terrorizer) and the incestuous, small nature of the scene where, due to tape trading and pen palling, most of Death Metal’s predominant protagonists all knew and inspired each other.

As the tales unfurl, you find yourself swept up and wanting to revisiting all the classic albums that are mentioned – Possessed ‘s Seven Churches (Combat), Pestilence Consvming Impvlse (Roadrunner), Massacre From Beyond (the story of Massacre’s signing to Earache being another fun aside revealed in the book) and Master Master (Displeased) forming part of my own soundtrack while reading.

The re-issue picks things up as the roots of recovery were just sprouting through the top soil at the tail end of the 90’s, highlighting the rise of a new DM general in Nile. After touching on the diversification of Death Metal of this millennium, including the mind-sucking brilliance of Portal and their focus on eldritch, dark atmospheres, Mudrian covers the popularity of technical Death Metal (a section that introduced me to Necrophagist and Obscura as you can’t help but be enthused to check all the recommends as you go) over the last decade. The tome now concludes by covering the return to the scene of the apex predators with Carcass, At The Gates, Death (DTA) and others reforming to reap the benefits of their respective legacies and the rewards of the now lucrative and high profile festival market, and to satisfy an urge that, in the case of Bill Steer, they didn’t even know they had. If you read the original, the added content is an agreeable appendix.

Peppered with short anecdotes, but above all an informative and enjoyable potted history of Death Metal, all imparted with the enthusiastic love that a doting parent has for a child, Choosing Death is an affectionate, if whistlestop, walk through of the story of Death Metal to date. In the authors’ own words, he is “Just a fan. Just like you.” He just happens to be a damn good writer who has written The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore. And updated it.

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8.5/10

STEVE TOVEY


Speckmann: Underground Survivor – The Pictorial

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Like any established genre of music, giving an objective answer to the question of who started playing Death Metal first is pretty much impossible, but anyone who knows what they’re talking about would put Paul Speckmann right at the top of any list. Death Metal fans have acknowledged Speckmann’s work with Master and Deathstrike – amongst many others – as being absolutely crucial to the development of the genre, and yet he has largely remained a background figure, his opinion never sought as widely as those of his peers and the musicians who followed him.

Consider what Speckmann has to say about the state of modern Death Metal! Think of the wealth of stories he has to share about the 80’s and 90’s Metal Underground! Imagine the light he can shed on the mindset of young musicians desperate to take Thrash Metal even further into extremity!

Now keep imagining, because sadly this book isn’t going to provide any of that. As the sub-heading suggests, Underground Survivor is primarily a book of pictures, both original photographs and photoshopped “concept” pieces, interspersed with occasional written comments by Speckmann in both German and English.

Dealing with the writing first, the main criticism is that there is so little of it. Clearly that isn’t the point – this is a pictorial study of Speckmann’s life and career, not a book of interviews, but it seems like a wasted opportunity to hear what he has to say, especially when the quality of what is written is so low. The English text is blighted by sloppy punctuation, poor grammar and some unfortunate typos (my own favourite being a full-page call to rational atheism which asks “what kind of God could we put our thrust in?” and misspelling the name of Speckmann’s own Krabathor), but the actual content of the text is little better. Simple descriptions of Speckmann’s activities in the scene – mostly of the “I met Dave from Rectal Blasphemer and then we got drunk” variety are offered without context or appraisal, with no attempt to draw any meaning or value. The few moments of insight he offers, such as his experiences of extreme poverty touring LEDC’s, are allowed to pass without comment. He clearly has interesting things to say, and a good editor could have drawn them out with skilfully questions, but that’s not the point here. THIS IS ABOUT THE PICTURES.

There are – let’s be fair here – a lot of them. Ignoring the photo-manipulations and concept pieces, which is the best thing to do with them, this is an exhaustive visual record of Speckmann’s life from early childhood to the modern day, showing us his family life, hobbies and musical career. Some of the personal photographs are genuinely charming – and the keen spotter of 80’s and 90’s Thrash and Death Metal luminaries will see Speckmann standing alongside pretty much everyone of note in those scenes – but by presenting them without context or development they never really have the chance to mean anything.

Ultimately, how much you value Underground Survivor will depend on your tolerance for pictures of hairy men standing around in black t-shirts looking awkward, interspersed with shallow descriptions of gigs and bands. As a visual account of the development of Death Metal, and a tribute to one of the most important of the genre’s founders, it’s not without its charm – but it’s hard to see it as anything other than a wasted opportunity.

5.0/10

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RICHIE HR


Tom Neely – Henry & Glenn Forever & Ever

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“Am I a Henry or a Glenn?” This is the question that popped into my head as I dug into Tom Neely and Igloo Tornado’s Henry & Glenn Forever & Ever; a collection of comics that explore the fictional relationship between Henry Rollins and Glenn Danzig. The first quarter or so of the book contains Neely’s work and was the part that I enjoyed the most. The plot is entertaining and I love how Herny and Glenn are drawn like old cartoon characters. Neely’s section is full with cameo’s of some very recognizable metal musicians and plenty of not-even-thinly-veiled pop culture references that should amuse your inner nerd.

After Neely’s section, I began to lose interest. Most of the other contributions to the collection were short one-off’s that were just the same gay joke being told over and over again with a different person illustrating it. The artwork varies wildly from excellent to something you would expect to see drawn on a bathroom wall. When it comes to a concept like this, you have to find a way to stand out and either tell a story or simply be funnier than everyone else who is going after the same bit and the rest of this book was pretty bland. At some points, the art looks like it was drawn by a middle school kid in study hall and the content amounts to little more than; “They’re gay, isn’t that hilarious?” You have so much material between the two of them, Black Flag, and the Misfits that the fact that so many of the authors just go after the easiest gay joke is disappointing.

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Some artists did try and were able to successfully keep my attention such as Mark Rudolph’s How the Chores Thrill. In this short comic, Glenn, much like Hercules (of Greek legend, not Kevin Sorbo), is sent on an epic quest and must complete three labors of varying difficulty. There are a few references to earlier portions of the book as well. It’s adorable and I loved it.

Overall, the collection is a decent read even with its flaws. I enjoyed finding musicians hidden in different scenes and how ridiculous some of the scenarios were. It’s also impossible to go wrong with Daryl Hall and John Oates as next door neighbors who also happen to be Satanists. Maybe that’s why I love them so much. Hardcore fans who can’t take a joke may want to avoid the read, though. That said, I’m definitely a Henry and I would buy the hell out of some Henry & Glenn themed tarot cards.

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7.0/10

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ALEIDA LA LLAVE


Dave Hofer – Perpetual Conversion – 30 Years & Counting in the Life of Metal Veteran Dan Lilker

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Perpetual-Conversion

My first encounter with Danny Lilker was 27 years ago. Relatively new to thrash metal, I bought Nuclear Assault’s The Plague and that clanking bommm, buh-buh bommmmm of the bass and striking image of a gangling mass of black curly hair stirred me to investigate more. Though he blazed a different trail than mine over the next 25 years, it amazes me upon reading Dave Hofer’s in-depth biography from Handshake Inc. how many times those trails crossed. Death, blackened doom, electronic metal…all twisted and perfected by the constantly low-fi, yet always curious and inventive Lilker.

Hofer paints his subject with warmth, familiarity, and honesty. Having ‘roadied’ for Brutal Truth in 2007 he swiftly became friends with Lilker, and has spent the last six years interviewing and researching for these 160 pages. That warmth is translated into the style of the book, loosely peppered with scrapbook-style photo insertions and dialogue consisting almost entirely of interview transcripts from Danny and many of the people he has encountered down the years.

Lilker’s words veer from self-deprecating – ‘I’m a slavic mutt’, he asserts almost from the off when discussing his Polish / Ukrainian ancestry – to remarkably laid back: even when discussing the tragic downfall of his beloved elder sister Barbara, an influence on his musical direction and lost to drugs when Lilker was just eleven. It was Barbara who introduced him to his lifelong love of ‘pot’, a recurring theme throughout the book and a road seemingly travelling parallel to his love of and devotion to creating music. Brutal Truth vocalist Kevin Sharp sums up his first meeting with Lilker thus: ‘The first time I met him, he said it was “Nice to meet me”, then said, “I have some pot. Want to smoke it?”. That was about the extent of it.’ His memory, though, is undimmed, recalling all manner of musical detail such as how the drum sound on the first Brutal Truth album was achieved, and how his arm was a bloody mess through chafing against his bass during those sessions. Every band he’s had an involvement with, even for one live gig or a day in the production booth, gets a name-check: it’s a phenomenal quality that displays his love of what he does.

The near-unswerving reliance on pure interview material becomes a little dry as the book progresses, and the intermittent flood of ‘picture pages’, containing often unnecessary images such as every Brutal Truth record cover under the sun, do break up the occasional monotony. It does, however, allow Dan and the people who know him to paint a picture we’d kind of expect. His likeability despite a laconic bluntness; his breakneck levels of creativity; his need to play music; all fondly recalled by all contributors just as myriad anecdotes affirm his legendary status. The ‘metal comedian’ Steve Hughes calls Lilker ‘…the Yoda of the metal underground’, whilst Napalm Death’s Barney Greenway refers to him as ‘Just a music sponge’. Cadaver’s Anders Oddington recalls how he was assisted in a crowd surge at Roskilde by Lilker; and Immolation’s Ross Dolan talks with reverence about Dan’s navigational skills, referring to him as a ‘Road map’.

Whilst not the easiest read there’s an undeniable attraction in such a wealth of information, opinion, humour and love for one of metal’s most prolific, influential and hard-working characters. The history of extreme metal oozes from every page and, for that reason alone, it’s something that all underground rats will devour.

6.5/10

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PAUL QUINN


Max Cavalera with Joel McIver – My Bloody Roots

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Max Cavalera. His name is synonymous with the modern metal era. Do I even need to write about the impact Max has made on the metal scene the last 25-plus years? If you don’t know at least half the story, you might as well turn your metal card in right now. The foundation he laid down as the mastermind of Sepultura during their legendary rise to prominence may never be repeated, simply because the music business has changed so much since the 80s. As a member of one of the most ground-breaking bands as there ever has been in metal, the impact Max has made on several sub-genres, not to mention creating a few himself. It’s undeniable. Along the way he’s had many well-documented highs and lows personally and professionally. It is a very interesting prospect when a very famous person, who has had many battles in the public eye, writes their autobiography. Max to his word, has chosen to tell his life story so far from a very humble and honest perspective, not glossing over his mistakes, or over inflating his triumphs as he takes the reader on the journey of his life in and out of metal.

Starting with his childhood and early life, My Bloody Roots from Sepultura to Soulfly and Beyond (Jawbone Press) tells Max’s life story and humble beginnings. He goes into great detail how he and his brother Igor had very happy childhood in Bello Horizonte, Brazil, and some of the funny things he’s gotten into. Max’s father was a big influence on his life, always promoting a love of family and music which clearly has guided his entire being all these years. The loss of his father has stayed with Max and also colored a lot of his experiences as grown man too. Past childhood, we are taken to the teenage Cavalera’s home life and how they gravitated to metal and punk rock simultaneously. Focusing their energies together, Max and Igor’s raw style musically helped turn them into a creative powerhouse they would become., innovating screaming and playing in metal. Writing a truly unvarnished account about his rise to fame and the many mistakes that he made along the way with alcohol and drugs on occasion, coupled with is sense of reckless abandon, you have to be impressed with the candor put forth by Max and venerable music journalist Joel McIver. It’s definitely a warts and all account.

We are regaled with some amazing stories, such as Max getting baptized in a church tomb under the Vatican as a young boy, to running afoul of Lemmy a few times, to other musical highlights such as earning Gold records (when they counted) and headlining major music festivals around the world. The path to Sepultura wasn’t a straight one, and even he marvels at some of the things that were achieved in their heyday of the late 80s and early 90s. One surprising thing about the book is the attention to paid to his anguished split from Sepultura in late 1996. He openly talks about the events leading to the rift (possibly it was coming for some time) and the painful betrayal he felt. However, much of this story has been told over and over, and certain details seem glossed over and omitted on purpose, and it’s totally a good thing. There’s no real revelatory moment here, and this reviewer appreciates it. This is also possibly owed to the fact of Max reuniting with Igor the last few years and not wanting to fully revisit that time, open up old wounds. Especially with all that business behind them. When so much bad blood has been spilled in public over the years, it’s likely for the best.

While the loss of father and namesake Massimiliano shaped his youth, the tragic death’s of his stepson Dana Wells and his grandson Moses, instead of filling him with bitterness, were events that hurt tragically, but pulled his family together. The Max Cavalera story is really his family history. Along with his wife Gloria, who Max considers his rock; they are all a very tight-knit unit with a lot of love and music around all the time. The way he was raised is the way he is now as a husband, father and grandfather. Mostly My Bloody Roots is a love letter to his home land Brazil and a toast to an explored life. Touring with his many bands, and exploring other cultures and world music to incorporate into his own his time off, this give him the fuel for life that he needs.

8.5/10

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KEITH CHACHKES


Jason Netherton – Extremity Retained

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Death Metal is often derided as being monolithic or identical-sounding, but in fact its twenty-five year-plus history has frequently been one of fluidity, experimentation and diversity. Setting a definitive account of this history into fewer than five hundred pages is no minor task, and involves some serious choices about how best to represent the genre as a whole. For Extremity Retained: Notes From The Death Metal Underground (Handshake Inc.), Jason Netherton – his own interest in the genre being more than just academic, having played in Misery Index since 2001 – has decided to forego a single author-directed narrative by letting the scene speak for itself.

The core body of the text consists of an enormous collection of interviews with band members, recording engineers, promoters, label bosses and artists involved with Death Metal music from the late 80’s to the current day. They are presented as unbroken first-person narratives, rather than interspersed with questions and observations from the interviewer, and Netherton’s voice only appears explicitly in short introductory sections at the beginning of each chapter. Which is not to say that the account in unstructured – Netherton has sorted the interviews into five sections (origins, local scenes, recording, touring and the future of Death Metal) and compiled them together in such a way that the story develops organically.

The main strength of this approach, of course, is that the people involved with Death Metal tell what they consider to be the important parts of their own story, and what is revealed is a wealth of personal reflections and reactions that are far richer than you may be expecting. A lot of the information will already be known to fans (though non-US interviews, especially the South American and Eastern European bands, certainly have some new things to offer) but the emotional responses of the people involved raise it to an entirely new level. This is a very human story, with some genuinely moving, shocking and funny accounts, and what comes through the loudest of all is just how organic and driven by genuine passion this genre was and still is. Even when the narrative reaches the lows of the 90’s label grabs and cookie-cutter repetition, the frustration and disappointment of the musicians and engineers comes from a very real and very human place.

Netherton is, of course, operating under some pretty hefty limitations – some self-imposed and others simply the nature of the project – and it would be remiss to not consider those weaknesses. He acknowledges in the introduction that some key voices are missing, and presumably worked hard to fill those gaps, but some omissions are genuinely glaring – for me, the lack of interviews with any British musicians is noticeable, especially given the sheer number of times that Carcass, Napalm Death and Earache Records crop up in others’ accounts. Repetition is another issue, though probably an unavoidable one – be prepared to read “we didn’t call it Death Metal then, it was just Thrash”, “everything changed when I heard Scream Bloody Gore” and “I miss tape-trading, the internet killed Metal” so often that you’ll develop a sort of personal mental short-hand for skipping through them.

Another slight disappointment for me was the total absence of the bands who’ve been pushing Death Metal in stranger and more abstract directions in the last few years – Portal, Ulcerate and Pyrrhon etc. aren’t mentioned, and though the oddness of Gorguts’ Obscura is discussed, its belated effect on the genre isn’t. The last chapter is given over to “the future of Death Metal”, but this is largely spent discussing the relative merits of the internet versus tape-trading rather than the development of the music itself.

If this review seems to have focussed more on the negative than the positive, it’s only because it’s easier to highlight the few flies in the ointment than to detail what works about Extremity Retained, which is basically everything else. It is a rich, detailed and frequently compelling story with some genuine insights about not just Death Metal but “underground” music as a whole, absolutely essential to anyone interested in the people and decisions behind the music.

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9/10

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RICHIE H-R


Not Just Tits in a Corset, by Jill Hughes Kirtland

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Women in heavy music is a polarizing topic, steeped in sexism and fraught with concepts of ability, power and entitlement. For female musicians who love their music hard, not much has changed since the 70’s when certain brave women cranked their amps to 11 and dared to rock a stage. There may be more female musicians in bands nowadays, but it takes more than numbers to establish true progress. There have been articles, books and blogs written about it, so does Not Just Tits in a Corset by writer/photographer Jill Hughes Kirtland break any new ground?

Well, not really. However, what Kirtland has done was put together a comprehensive book celebrating the past and present women of Metal, and letting them tell their stories as opposed to the author voicing her views with trite comments from the musicians thrown in. It is a good read, and it was great that she not only mentioned and interviewed famous Metal women such as Cristina Scabbia and Angela Gossow, but that she dug a little deeper, featuring unsung heroines such as Addie Lee of Fanny, Betsy Bitch of Bitch, and Linda McDonald of Phantom Blue/Iron Maidens. It is structured in a linear way, from The Runaways and Fanny in the 70’s, through the 80’s with the California scenes and to the Hard Rock/Metal Queens of today. Throughout, the song sadly remains the same then as now – incredible highs of success, camaraderie, male support and total control of the music and image, to the lows of sexism, disrespect, and dismissive attitudes. Kirtland never loses sight of keeping things positive overall, focusing on how these women have persevered and remained true to their calling. It had to be a tough balance for Kirtland in trying to create a layout and flow that was eye-catching and easy to read, but still had journalistic integrity. There are times when artists are mentioned in a cursory manner, but that is tempered by powerful statements from several women who have been in the trenches. The Table of Contents’ many exclamation points screams “tabloid” and initially raises some doubts about how serious this book could be taken, but then her heart-felt preface dials it back to why the screaming is necessary – to be heard and to be taken seriously – by those who refuse to pay attention and acknowledge woman’s presence in this scene as musicians, writers, managers, label-owners, promoters, photographers, etc. I also commend Kirtland for not only focusing on the female Metal singers, but also reminding readers that many women are actually instrumentalists in the band, interviewing such as hard-hitting drummers as Justine Ethier (Blackguard) and Roxy Patrucci (Vixen). There are certain notable hard rockin’ women that are not mentioned at all (no Heart? No Skin from Skunk Anansie? No Ice Age?), but that just shows how many women were and are out there in Hard Rock/Metal doing their thing!

The mighty Doro Pesch does the preface and is further featured in the book. This is totally fitting, and I feel that if there was one woman who embodies the enduring spirit of Metal, it is her. There are many great pictures of the artists, making the book better for your coffee table than on a shelf. Not Just Tits in a Corset may not leave the reader feeling any better (or different) about how women in Metal are viewed and treated, but it will leave a sense of pride, positivity and empowerment while turning one on to artists they may not have heard of before. A satisfying blend of history, commentary, pictures and styles, this is a book that is a must-read for every Metalhead worth her – and his – salt.

8.5/10

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LYNN JORDAN


Alexandra Crockett – Metal Cats Book

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Do you like metal? Check (if not, why are you even here?). Do you like cats? I don’t but you probably do. Do you like attractive men? Of course you do. This brings us to the book Metal Cats (powerHouse Books) by photographer Alexandra Crockett. The public tends to give members of the metal community a bad reputation for no real reason. These pictures are about crossing boundaries. Pretty much everyone loves cats; they bring people together. This book is a collection of metal heads with their animal companions with the added bonus of proceeds going to no-kill shelters on the West Coast. Let’s help some animals and check out some dudes!

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The Good – Most of these cats look infinitely less amused than their metal fathers which I find absolutely hilarious. Ross Sewage of Ghoul, and a million other projects, makes a particularly enticing male model. Please, keep the mask on. Villainizer and Death Toll Rising’s Drew Copeland and his furry friend can give you pointers for how to ring in the holiday season. An ugly sweater and a no nonsense demeanor are key.

The Bad – Nothing! Even a non-cat lover like myself can get a kick out of this collection.

The Adorable – Nym Penga of Mongrel Gods and In the Age of Terminal Static with his black-as-the-night chicken, Boxy. If you don’t think that chicken is amazing, well, you’re just wrong.

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If you’re a crazy cat lady, a crazy cat dude, or don’t like to read (thanks for reading), pick up a copy of this book. This would have made a great desk calendar too. Maybe we can get the ladies in on the action next time. For the record, I would be all for Metal Dogs and/or Metal Snakes if anyone wants to go ahead and make them a thing.

8.0/10

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ALEIDA LA LLAVE